Prepare for a comic book rant kiddies. For those who have no idea who Joe Quesada, Harry Osborn, or Mephisto are, this will make no sense to you. Sorry. Also, for those of you who do know the One More Day storyline, and have not yet read the conclusion, this will include spoilers, so best to stay away (or better yet, stay away from the book itself, it sucks that much).

First off, lemme just lay the groundwork. I've been reading comic books since I was 11. I've been reading Spider-Man comics since I was 12. And aside from a year or two lull in college due to monetary constraints, Spider-Man has been the one constant in my comic book stack. Hell, I even stayed with him through the Clone Saga. But I have a feeling I'm finally done.

Joe Quesada has been Editor-in-Chief at Marvel for quite a while now, and more often than not, I've liked his decisions in relation to Spidey. Getting JMS on Amazing was great, and aside from the stupid Gwen Stacey nailing Norman Osborn debacle, I've loved everything about it. I even thought the organic webshooters and identity reveal were intriguing as it opened up tons of new story angles. The other Spider-Man book were always great reads, cool ways up addressing the superhero aspect, as well as the supporting cast aspect. And with the character becoming more and more ingrained in the Marvel Universe as a whole through New Avengers and Civil War, it made reading the one-off storylines that much more enjoyable.

But now, with a snap of the Devil's fingers (literally!), everything that we as readers have followed for 2 decades is wiped out. This isn't like the Clone Saga, where they tried to start from scratch, while still retaining the historical significance of previous canon, this is a slap/spit/shit in the face of all the long-term fans. And all in the name of "bringing in new readers".

Yes, Peter Parker and Mary Jane make a deal with the devil to spare the life of his dying aunt who is approximately 129 years old (oooh, but she's fiesty!). And all the have to do is give up their "love/marriage" to Mephisto, as if it never happened. Hell, it's not even giving up one's soul. Oh, but since Peter and MJ's love is "that special love that only comes around once in a lifetime", it's special. And Spider-Man, who's probably been involved with Mephisto a dozen times, and knows deals with the devil always work out right, make it. Sure.

So, surprise surprise, not only are they simply retconning the marriage (which I'll get to in a minute), they decide to do the same thing to every other big event from the Spider-man mythos. Harry Osborn sacrifices himself for friends in family in one of the classic Spidey-stories? Erased, he's just been in rehab! And we'll forget all the stories that occurred with his widow, his son, and his evil father who, oh yeah, is leading one of the "name" superteams in Marvel today. No storyline problems there.

Howsabout that whole "Other" storyline *from last year* in which Spidey gets organic webshooters? Erased! Stories are so much better when there's a chance for Spidey to be swinging around and "Oh No, I run out of web fluid!" Yeah, that didn't get old 30 years ago...

And then the identity reveal. While, sure, it was controversial, and did limit some stories, it also opened up tons more. And seeing as it impacted every single Marvel book for the past year, I cannot see how the Marvel Universe will be able to deal with it in any way that makes sense. But again, it's wiped out with possibly the easiest decisions by editorial, but the stupidest in terms of actual character. How hard is this to get through your head Quesada: Spider-Man would ever make a deal with the devil, and to say he woudl, and make it canon, make it change everything, is a disservice to the character, and his fans.

Finally, the reason this storyline took place. JoeQ believes that the fans see the marriage of MJ and Peter as a negative, and the only logical conclusion for them being together is to "grow old and die". In his mind, it is impossible to garner new readers to the books if Peter and MJ are married, because that makes Spider-Man old an unrelatable. Nevermind the fact that the two have been married the entire time I've read the books, and I never had a problem with it. If the studies are right, and average comic fans age is around 30 anyway, they've been reading the books with them married, too, and never had a problem with it.

On top of all that... JoeQ's bug-up-his-ass about having a single and young Spider-Man was already addressed upon the creation of Ultimate Spider-Man! Nearly 120 issues of that book, and Spider-Man is still only 16! While current answers as to just what changed in Amazing Spider-Man won't be answered until Brand New Day comes out, it's sure looking like there is now no difference between the 616 and Ultimate Spidey.... just crappy.

I'm dropping all my Spider-Man book until this idiotic decision is retconned itself. Which if the forums at CBR is any indication will be in less than 6 months.

6 Comments:

That's life with comic books, man. I read a brief summary of Wolverine's "history", and he has either had the metal stripped from his body or quit/then rejoined the X-men more than Yule Brenner did the King and I. Shake your head and accept the cool stuff, ignore the bull.-Chris

I try Chris, but the sheer hatred of JoeQ's decision is still making me see red. Maybe the book will be better without the marriage, but the fact it's literally wiped from all the books I grew up reading doesn't make that pill any easier to swallow. And again, we come back to the fact *Spider-Man would never make a deal with the devil*

Sigh.

But Jay, that trailer does look badass, as does the Iron Man flick. And the fact that Batman would whip Spidey's ass is inconsequential... the dude has beaten *Superman* a dozen times...

"Let a man get away with fuckin' you once, you stay bent over so's he can fuck you again whenever he damn well pleases. An' if one man can do it? Another will too. An' another, an' another still. So's being fucked, that's yer life. 'Til who you were, you ain't. 'Cause all you are is an asshole."100 Bullets #42